As shown in FIG. 1A, prior art electronic circuit breakers 100A used for arc fault or ground fault detection, such as Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCIs) and Combination Arc Fault Circuit Interrupters (CAFCIs) typically include an external pigtail wire 102 that is used to connect to the panel board neutral, such as neutral bar. During installation, the pigtail wire is unraveled, measured, cut to length, end stripped, and then manipulated into place in a neutral bar socket of the neutral bar. This is a very labor intensive process.
Certain one-pole and two-pole electronic residential circuit breakers 100A may use mounting features, such as a mounting tab 103, on the load side of the circuit breaker 100A to help hold the circuit breaker in position on a panel board. The pigtail wire 102 connects internally to the electronics of the residential circuit breaker 100A. In the depicted embodiment, the pigtail wire 102 may have about 13 inch to about 20 inch (about 33 cm to about 51 cm) of 12AWG wire used to connect to the neutral bar on the panel board. The free end of the pigtail wire 102 may be secured into the neutral socket of the neutral bar, and may be held in place with a screw.
While most circuit breakers have historically used a pigtail wire 102 to connect to the panel board neutral bar, recently some manufacturers have begun to use a C-clip 104, as shown in FIG. 1B, to connect directly to a panel board neutral bar on the underside of the circuit breaker 100B. In this plug-on neutral design, the circuit breaker 100B is pushed directly on to a stab on the line side and onto a panel board neutral bar on the load side at the same time.
Existing pigtail neutral designs have a disadvantage of relatively high installation costs when an installer unravels, measures, cuts to length, strips the end of insulation, and then manipulates the pigtail 102 to insert the stripped end into a neutral socket of the neutral bar. Some existing C-clip designs, such as shown in FIG. 1B, have the disadvantage that once the circuit breaker is plugged onto the stab and neutral bar, there is limited ability to capture the breaker from coming off (becoming unplugged) or moving.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved method of connecting the circuit breaker neutral to the panel board neutral bar, while at the same time providing capability to hold the electronic circuit breaker securely in place on the panel board.